electrical question??

installed a one wire altinator on my 2n amp meter wont reqister so I want to replace it with a volt meter I checked the battery before starting and then again while running and lo and behold the voltage increased. So how do I hook up a volt meter on a one wire alt???

Negative side of meter to ground, positive side to +12 volts.
A switched 12 volt reference would be best, like the ignition side of the key.
That way the voltmeter is shut off when the key is off.

One wire to ground and the other side to the switched side of the ignition switch.

lets see.. you are unable to wire up an ammeter correctly.. so instead of correcting that.. you want to install a volt meter?

am I right so far?


vm tells you less.. but your machine.

vm references ground and switched power...

xring.......why does increased battery voltage when running surprize you??? How do you think batterys gitt charged??? 1-wire ...or... 3-wire ALL the same. Connect yer voltmeter between Ignition switch ON and ground. Iff'n meter read WRONG polarity, just swap the meter leads. Simple, eh?

The reason you want to connect to ignition switch ON is the voltmeter can "drain" yer battery in about 1-weeks time. Then you'll be complaining again about dead battery. When used daily, the alternator/generator re-charges the battery. The original "loop" ammeter does NOT drain yer battery, nether does the 2-terminal ammeter. ........Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister

the amp meter reads o or discharge motor running, discharge with lights on. It is a two post amp meter +/- . Positive from alt. neg down stream. Why wont it read amp. But the volt meter will tell me it is charging, that is my concern. thank you

the ammeter will tell you it's charging. the volt meter won't tell you as much.

difference between 12 and 14 on the average jittery tractor running voltmeter is near impossible to read. now.. lets say the alt goes south and you are running off the battery. by the time the needle on the VM is low enough for you to figure that out.. the battery may already be at 10.5-11.5v and for a lead acid battery.. that is effectively 'discharged'.. thus possibly leaving you stranded with a no start condition.

an ammter setup as center 0 net charge discharge shows charge and discharge deflection.

for an ammter like that to read correctly, you need charge line and all loads on one side of the ammeter, and the side ONLY connected to battery.

better to fix what you have.. IMHO.

again.. your machine. you might have better luck wiring a volt meter even if you can't wire an ammeter.

of course.. it's possible the ammter is bad.. in which case.. I'd sepnd the money on a new one.. vs a volt meter.

if you think the ammeter is bad.. reverse the wires.. see if it reads sligth charge instead of the discharge.. if so.. you know it is reading current both ways and the real problem is in your wireing or charge circuit.

Listen to soundguy.

(quoted from post at 16:44:52 03/31/13) the amp meter reads o or discharge motor running, discharge with lights on. It is a two post amp meter +/- . Positive from alt. neg down stream. Why wont it read amp. But the volt meter will tell me it is charging, that is my concern. thank you

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xring, HCooke, Dell and I all answered your initial question, which was "how
do I hook up a voltmeter".
souNdguy is giving you solid additional information on why a correctly
wired ammeter may serve you better and I agree with him on that front.
All of my tractors that came with an ammeter still have them.
The value of any meter relies on the operator's ability to pay attention to
it and know how to interpret what it is telling you.
There in lies the argument for idiot lights instead of meters at all.
If you want the voltmeter hook it up as described.
If you want help fixing the wiring on the ammeter, we can help there too.
If you'd rather have a light come on and grab your attention, that's another option.
Your tractor.

(quoted from post at 18:57:33 03/31/13) installed a one wire altinator on my 2n amp meter wont reqister so I want to replace it with a volt meter I checked the battery before starting and then again while running and lo and behold the voltage increased. So how do I hook up a volt meter on a one wire alt???

Click to expand...

Hook up the voltmeter and forget all the HOG WASH others tell you about why a amp meter is the better made up choice and those that agree that its a better choice... Its a 12V thang you are not running on the raged edge like a pizz poor 6V set up does... I don't see the glory in a amp meter when the first thang (if you no your chit) one needs to know to diagnosis issues is the voltage...